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Blogging Blunders: Part 2

Blogging Blunders: Part 2

Welcome to the second installment of Blogging Blunders and sorry for missing last week, it just got hectic and found it to be late Friday without a blog post typed.

So here we go. In the last installment we talked about the different variety of poor content, what they are as well as SEO in regards to your blog and not getting upset if your blog isn't the overnight success you wanted. Here we will be discussing poor blog design, engagement, lead generation, analytic feedback and a bit of A/B testing.

Blah Blog Design

This isn't so much about dull graphics or that cookie cutter template you snagged from Godaddy (JK!). This is about how you're able to generate leads from it. Consider adding a CTA (call-to-action) to every blog post. The CTA should clearly relate the next step a potential lead must take to convert. We'll also touch on organization and RSS subscriptions here.

A CTA, for example, if I'm wanting readers to get a quote for my services such as Blog Consulting ( ;-) ), I would use a clear CTA close to this button:

There are different CTAs you can apply to your blog, this one is using a simple button / link to another page where the conversion happens. I'll get into CTAs in later bloggings where we can show examples of more content-focused ads but this should give you a clear enough idea.

Make sure you have a RSS available on your site, a button should be there looking like this:

This will allow readers to get updates right to their inbox, web browser or phone when you release your next post and lead them right to your CTA. Also, make sure those share buttons are on for Social Media, we'll talk more about that soon. Going off-tangent for a moment, you can also post the first paragraph of content on your social media with a link back as a sample to attract more readers.

Not Engaging

If you have the time, allow for your readers to respond to your posts by enabling feedback in your blog. This is a great way to kick-up conversation and build community on your site. Make sure you have the time to monitor feedback and be the referee if needed if an argument were to breakout. Reply to posts openly and honestly. Don't be critical of negative feedback, simply respond and get to the root of it. Feedback can be vital either way. Listen before you act.

Not Promoting through Social Media

As mentioned earlier, make sure you have social media enabled on your site. Now, for the next step, make sure you promote through your social media. Hootsuite is a great tool for this. From a single post you can blast to your LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook pages easily. It's free so what are you waiting for? Blast the first part of your blog here quick and easy.

No Blog Anayltics

Make sure you're blog is covered in your analytic account whether it be Google Analytics or other. This is a great way to figure out what your readers are devouring and want more of and what they are not interested in as much. Other analytical feedback includes:

number of subscribers

page views

visitors

comments created

links to your blog

leads and conversions

social shares

keywords generating traffic

Not A/B Testing

Now that we have a blog setup, it's time to start testing! Like a website or SEO, a blogger's work is never done. Keep testing different elements of your site such as blog titles, layout, CTAs over time to see how you can improve the experience for your visitors. If you find more people are clicking on button CTAs compared to on-page forms, it might be best to use buttons for the longer term, right? Make sure you test small things, one thing at a time to be able to measure your progress more accurately. Big changes in your visitors might not happen overnight so give each change time to take effect.

Conclusion

Hopefully you found this week's blog educational and somewhat insightful. Remember, to use those CTAs in your blog, use social sharing both in and outside of your blog, test and track everything in your analytics. Until next week, take care!